"Darksiders" Creator Joe Madureira's 5 Favorite Video Games

If you're looking for an epic new adventure to entertain you during the inevitable January hibernation, look no further than Darksiders, an Armageddon-based action game that was released last week for Xbox and PS3. The game, which has been getting pretty solid reviews across the board, was co-created by Joe Madureira (a.k.a. Joe Mad), a longtime vet of the comic book industry best known for his art work on The Uncanny X-Men in the '90s. We interviewed Joe in our December/January 2010 issue about Darksiders, but we also wanted to find out more about his personal gaming influences. Read on to learn about Joe Madureira's 5 Favorite Video Games of All Time...

Diablo II (2000)Blizzard Entertainment/PCJOE SAYS: "This game wins on the addiction factor alone. Often imitated, and never equaled, I have bought this game at least 5 times since it was released 10 years ago (I keep losing the dang discs!). Each time I play it, it's as if it's for the first time. I just can't believe how good this damn game is."

Out of This World (1991)Eric Chahi for Interplay/U.S. Gold & Delphine Software International/EverythingJOE SAYS: "So ahead of its time, on so many levels, I think people forget how much it really did for cinematic storytelling in games. It had a powerful, compelling story, and had NO DIALOGUE, or text of any kind. No UI for that matter. Context-sensitive controls and many other things that other games have been stealing credit for in recent years. It was pure magic in its day."

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)Nintendo EAD for Nintendo/N64JOE SAYS: "Honestly, all Zelda games are great, but this one has the nostalgia factor tied to it. Plus, the N64 controller gives it an extra nudge, I loved that thing."

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2003)Konami/GBAJOE SAYS: "I think of Symphony of the Night as the 'definitive' Castlevania game, but ever since Aria introduced the collection of Monster Souls, it's hard for me to play any other Castlevania. I just became completely obsessed and started farming every creature in the game. Love this whole series."

World of Warcraft (2004)Blizzard Entertainment/PCJOE SAYS: "I almost wasn't going to put this on here, because it's more of a hobby than a game, but—it's an amazing achievement no matter how you slice it. Not to mention it's occupied more hours of my life than any other single game in history (except maybe EverQuest)."

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